Brown
by Shinji Shazaki
Summary: A peaceful night, interrupted.  Based on part of the Kigo100, by Mag.  Oneshot.


Brown

Disclaimer: Disney owns "Kim Possible." The artist Mag (fortheloveofpizza . deviantart . com) owns the art piece this story is based on. I own whatever I write/create. Don't steal and don't sue.

Shego knew how many psychological analyses had been done on both herself and Doctor Drew "Drakken" Lipsky. Free time was not a rare thing for her. If time spent ignoring Drakken's ranting and raving was not counted, she had it in overabundance. Most of this time was taken up by one or more of four things, three of which Drakken was familiar with.

The first was training. Despite her lazy attitude and posturing, Shego was wont to spend hours upon hours in gyms and virtual simulators to hone fighting, acrobatic, and infiltration skills. She was a proud creature, and she enjoyed being referred to as the most dangerous female criminal in the world far too much to let herself fall out of practice.

Much of her time was also devoted to simply being said young female criminal. She was in the prime of her life, and found great pleasure in many things. Her beach-bum lifestyle was well documented and highly envied among the other super villains, as was her startlingly ease of entry into the best clubs around the world. This charmed life drove Shego to constantly research what was happening in the world of crime fighters.

She would not be caught off guard, and so she hacked into the databases of all major crime fighting agencies every week to see what new things—fact or fiction—had been discovered in regards to Drakken and herself. The usual statistics were given mere halfhearted glances or pointedly skipped over. Discussions over how best to deal with her powers and methodology were given thorough readings, as the solutions these agencies reached could always be turned back around for Shego's benefit.

The psychological analyses, however, were simply icing on the cake. They ranged from laughably ridiculous—often times involving supposed deeper meanings behind the strained relations between Shego and her brothers or Drakken and his mother—to almost disturbingly accurate. Drakken's reports were typically dismissive of the man, insisting that he was no more a "mad scientist" than any particular fellow off the street.

Shego always got a laugh out of these reports when she used them as fuel for her insults. His habit of storming away in a huff kept him from inquiring after the analyses on her character, and Shego was grateful for it. One bright-thinking psychoanalyst had taken note of Shego's habit of taunting her opponents during battle, and Shego found herself glancing back over the report to make herself smile.

The analyst had focused mainly on a specific, constant opponent of Shego's: Kim Possible. The report—spanning a good twelve pages—scrutinized the banter that the two women tossed back and forth during combat, remarking on Shego's repeated use of pet names. In the end, the analyst had generated many theories. The pet names could be any number of things, but were generally considered a method to ruin Kim's focus.

One theory had suggested that while the pet names were indeed used for distraction, there was a second, more intimate reason for distraction. It was entertained that Shego and Kim were lovers in secret, and the pet names were Shego's method of reminding Kim that their lives as criminal and hero were only a game as opposed to their lives together.

Shego enjoyed rereading the printout she had made of the report. It was an enjoyment brought not by amusement at what most would see as a crackpot theory, but because it tied in very closely to the fourth thing Shego did with her free time. One night, as she pulled her favorite long leather jacket over her green and black suit, she smiled to herself. It was always a pleasure to keep a secret when it had already been essentially revealed.

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Kim lay on her back, staring up at the full moon. The grass beneath her was cool and slightly damp with the late hour, but she enjoyed the feeling on her bare skin. After a moment, she sighed and stretched, arching her spine as she reached her arms far over her head. Her hands slid through her hair to cradle her head, and she settled back down in a comfortable position.

Her hands felt the faint tremors of light footfalls through the earth before she heard any of the whisper-soft steps through the grass. Kim kept her eyes on the moon, but she could not stop the smile from curling her lips. A dark-haired head leaned into her vision, the figure's smile coming into focus within moments.

"Hey, princess," Shego chuckled. "Am I late?" She sat down beside Kim, letting her legs lie flat on the ground.

"Aren't you always?" Kim asked in return. She shuffled about, moving to put her head in Shego's lap. "But you're here. That's what I care about." Shego chuckled, putting her fingers in Kim's hair and beginning to stroke. Kim hummed and closed her eyes, turning her face more fully against the other woman's thigh. "I love this jacket."

"What have you been up to?" The question was one that Shego always asked. Their time together was limited to battling for the fate of the world or these quiet, happy moments, and there were a thousand things that happened to Kim that didn't involve heavy media coverage.

"Nothing much. I graduated." Shego nodded, still running her fingers through Kim's bright auburn hair. It was rare that she could take off her clawed gloves, and, while they were stowed in the pouch on her ankle in case of an emergency, she savored touching every silky strand.

"You got the flowers I sent, right?" Kim smiled and giggled, nodding slightly.

"_And_ the little black teddy bear with green eyes," she said. "God, Shego—I didn't know that they even made black roses. Thank you."

"Welcome. I'm sorry I couldn't be there." Kim's smile did not vanish, but it wavered as her eyes grew sad.

"It's all right. You—we can't really do much about it, can we?" For a moment, both women were absolutely still while they avoided each other's eyes. It was a topic long recognized and rarely discussed. Neither wanted to demand something unreasonable. Kim could not bring herself to ask Shego to give up her life of crime, and Shego knew that Kim could never follow through with giving up heroism. Kim still hadn't told her parents anything in regards to her sexuality, and steadfastly refused to label herself. Shego always shrugged at the idea of such a label, and encouraged Kim's refusal.

It had been six months since they'd met each other outside of their typical roles, and the speed and strength of the relationship they'd fallen into was still astonishing. Sitting together as they were under the moon, the weight Shego felt most upon her was not the familiar pressure of Kim's head in her lap. Awkwardness and discomfort bowed her shoulders, and she sighed heavily.

"Kim?" Her voice was a whisper, and Kim looked up immediately to find Shego staring at a point far in the distance. "What do you want to do about all of this?"

"What?"

"Just—tell me what you'd like to happen." Kim's eyes lowered, and she turned to lie on her side.

"I want us to stay together," she said softly. "I'd like it if you didn't work for Drakken…or any other villain. And I want you to meet my parents—as my…my girlfriend." Shego let out a low hum, resuming her slow stroking of Kim's hair.

"So if I'm not working for Drakken, then what? Do I go and work for G.J.?"

"Maybe you could work with me. And maybe I could start, I don't know, charging a little bit?" Shego looked down at the young woman whose head was nestled so comfortably in her lap, the faintest hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Would you honestly do that?" she asked.

"Would you honestly not work for Drakken?"

"Touché." The remark earned a giggle from Kim, who closed her eyes when Shego's fingers began to massage the back of her neck. "Sounds like a good plan."

"What?" Kim opened her eyes and sat up. Shego smiled at her.

"I said it sounds like a good plan, Kimmie. What did you think I said?" As Kim remained silent, Shego chuckled and tapped the other woman's nose. "Thank God you're pretty—not much happening behind those eyes, is there?"

"You'd really do all that?"

"I would." Shego leaned forward and pressed a kiss against Kim's lips. "I don't like seeing you upset. Kim—I want you to be happy." Kim blinked, her mouth hanging open slightly. There was nothing but honesty in Shego's eyes and seriousness in her face. Faced with such an offer, Kim's face split into a smile, and she wrapped her arms around Shego's shoulders, nuzzling her head into the crook of her neck.

"I love you." Shego smiled and put her arms around Kim's waist, pulling the young woman to sit in her lap.

"I love you, too."

The world around them exploded.

----------

Shego sorted out the facts as quickly as she could. The bursts from the laser cannon had been pathetically inaccurate. Two shots landed simultaneously on either side of the couple, and the third blast was placed in the ground behind Kim's back before the first two explosions had ended. They had been thrown fifty yards into the resulting pile of stony rubble, and that was where they currently lay buried.

There would be no salvaging the leather jacket, but it was the furthest thing from Shego's mind. There was a shallow wound on the left side of her neck, the high collar of her suit split apart by a particularly sharp rock fragment. Blood flowed freely from a deep gash in her right forearm, as it did from a cut on her left cheek. A large rock sat firmly on her right eye, and she jerked her head to make it roll away.

None of these things were very worrisome. Shego's focus was split between two things: Kim's well being, and the massive slab of stone that she held over the two of them. With a grunt, Shego pulled her right hand away and shuffled her left hand along the stone to balance the weight. She reached for the pouch on her right ankle, unzipping it and retrieving her clawed gloves.

"Kim?" There was no response, even after she had wiggled her hands into the gloves one at a time. Kim, lying between Shego's outstretched arms and legs, was completely still and silent. Shego did not bother to ask a second time. She flexed her fingers, digging lines into the stone as she let her arms and legs bend. Green and black plasma ignited around her hands at her mental command, and she bent her limbs a fraction further.

With a snarling cry, Shego pushed with everything she had. The effort from her legs pushed the slab back only a few inches, but the burst of plasma sent the slab flying backward a good ten feet. Coughing to clear her lungs of the dust and dirt that had gathered in them, Shego looked down at Kim.

The moonlight accentuated every injury that had been inflicted on the young woman. A cut on her left cheek—identical to Shego's—pulsed bright crimson. The short sleeve on her small black shirt was shredded on her left arm, red rivulets falling from two deep lacerations. A massive, ugly bruise had already developed, dominating half of her upper and lower left arm. The side of her left hand was covered with dirt and blood, and a small lump had swelled on the back of the hand.

Shego knew instantly why the young woman was unconscious. Another lump sat on the right side of her head, covered with blood. Shego spared a quick glance about, finding the stone that she had let fall from her face. There was blood smeared along one side. For a moment, Shego lay still, wrapping her arms around Kim.

"Ah, Shego! Good to see you weren't killed!" Her eyes snapped up to find a large, humanoid robot standing ten yards away. She could see Drakken standing in the control center in the robot's head, speaking into a microphone. "And I see you're about to break her like a twig!" The blue-skinned man squealed and clapped his hands together, hopping from foot to foot. "Oh, all my plans—realized at last!"

Shego could only stare at the man in the robot. A cold burn built at the back of her neck, her hands itching to light with plasma. Ignoring his rambling, she gently laid Kim on a smooth patch of ground before standing up. She began to advance on the robot, fingers stiffening. Green and black plasma burst into view, the flames coiling up her forearms.

"Shego?" Drakken paused in his dancing and raving, leaning over the control console of the robot to look out of the view screen. "Shego, what are you doing? Kim Possible is back there on the rocks! Shego!" She strode under the robot, moving past one of its legs. Shego laced her hands together and drew them back, sucking in a massive breath. With another snarling howl, she swung her arms at the robot's leg.

The plasma ripped through metal and wire, slicing through the robot's leg. Drakken let out a shriek as the robot pitched backward and started to fall. Shego leapt away before the robot fell upon her, but charged back and sprang atop it the moment it was on the ground. She tore into the robot's chest with her claws and plasma, ripping pieces out as if they were nothing but paper. It was the only acceptable fate she could see for the thing that had so wounded Kim.

When the robot was nothing more than a smoking pile of slag, Shego stormed to the view screen and carved through it. Drakken lay curled in the fetal position, sucking his thumb and whimpering pitifully. Shego's advance toward him was met with a high-pitched whine and the shedding of tears. She grabbed him by the front of his lab coat, letting the plasma scorch the cloth.

For some time, she contemplated what to do with him. Murdering him seemed reasonable, but only for a moment or two. It was too much, even for wounding Kim. The thought of the young woman's wounds forced her to make a hasty decision, but it was not one she would regret.

----------

The first thing Kim knew was that she had been given painkillers. She recognized the dull ache that was present in every inch of her body, and the all too familiar feeling of being in a hospital bed was a dead giveaway. Years of being a heroine had landed her in the hospital a number of times, and she knew that she would be on painkillers coming out of unconsciousness.

The second thing she knew was that there was something small and soft in her arms. She let her eyes slowly open and looked down to her chest. The black teddy bear was instantly recognized, and she wondered briefly when her parents had gone home to fetch the stuffed animal.

"Are you awake, princess?" Kim turned her head to find Shego sitting next to the bed. Before she could speak, Shego smiled and put a finger to her lips. She gestured toward the other side of the bed with her free hand. Kim's family—and Ron—sat sleeping and snoring in their chairs. Kim smiled at the sight before turning back to Shego.

"Did you just sneak in?" she asked. Shego smiled and shook her head.

"I've been with you the whole time," she replied. With a chuckle, she patted the bandage wrapped around her neck, and Kim noticed the wrap around her right arm. "Told them to just give me a basic patch-up and let me handle the rest."

"But my parents—the hospital staff—"

"It helped that I tossed Drakken in jail before I brought you here." Kim giggled quietly at the smile on Shego's face, squeezing the teddy bear in her arms. "It's OK."

"But what did you tell everyone?" Shego's eyes softened as she reached out and took one of Kim's hands.

"That you and I have something to tell them." Kim smiled reassuringly and squeezed Shego's hand.

"OK." She yawned suddenly, and Shego's lips quirked at the kittenish display. "Can it…can it wait until I wake up again?"

"It can." Shego let her thumb caress Kim's palm, smiling at the other woman. "Go ahead and sleep." Kim smiled and nodded, letting her eyes slowly close.

"Shego?"

"What?" Kim smiled and yawned again.

"Love you." Shego smiled, watching Kim's eyes close completely.

"Love you, too."

—_end—_


End file.
